IF recent days have taught us anything it is this: 2023 is already shaping up to be a belter when it comes to empowerment anthems. The weapon of choice? I give you the “diss” – or revenge – track. Gird your loins …
For those not up on their pop culture news, the past week has seen two big-name music stars make headlines thanks to the unflinching content of their new singles.
First up was Shakira with Out of Your League, a song widely believed to be about her ex-partner, the former Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué. In its first weekend of release, it racked up 111 million views on YouTube and topped the global Spotify chart.
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The couple, who were together for more than a decade and have two children, split last year. Shakira sings in Spanish about someone moving on to a new relationship, comparing it to swapping “a Ferrari for a [Renault] Twingo” and a “Rolex for a Casio”.
Then came Miley Cyrus with Flowers. The catchy lyrics and accompanying video – best summed up by using the fire emoji – are rumoured to include multiple references to Cyrus’s relationship with her ex-husband, the Australian actor Liam Hemsworth, who filed for divorce in 2019.
Adding fuel to this theory, the single debuted on January 13, neatly coinciding with Hemsworth’s 33rd birthday. Cyrus will be unveiling her eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, on March 10 and it is expected to pack a punch.
Fellow singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey was set to release her latest record on the same date – which would have made it a big day for quivering exes – but has now pushed it back a fortnight to March 24.
When Del Rey announced the project, titled Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, in December, she revealed that a lone billboard had been put up to promote it – in the US city of Tulsa, which also happens to be her ex-boyfriend Sean Larkin’s hometown.
On her private Instagram page, Del Rey – never shy about wearing her heart on her sleeve when it comes to the worst ravages of love – posted a selfie with said billboard. Asked about the significance of the Oklahoma location, she replied in the comments section: “It’s. Personal.”
Eagle-eyed fans also noticed that Del Rey released the title track from what will be her ninth studio album on December 7, which is reportedly Larkin’s birthday. Savage.
Personally, I love a good diss track. What Gen X woman hasn’t listened to You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette on heavy rotation after breaking up with yet-another-ridiculous-boyfriend circa the mid-1990s?
Sure, it is far classier to retreat and heal with stoic dignity but there is something cathartic about putting your feelings on blast, as anyone who has ever grabbed a karaoke mic for a ropey rendition of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor can testify.
While my own musical talents stop at playing the recorder in primary school, I have – on occasion – been known to belt out some blistering ad-lib ripostes in the shower. Word to the wise: it beats sending a painstakingly crafted paragraph only to be left on read.
It would be remiss to discuss revenge/empowerment anthems and not mention the reigning queen of the genre. Yep, I am talking about Taylor Swift, whose sublime song-writing genius sets the bar high, not least with the record-breaking success of her latest album Midnights.
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For years, the star has faced snide criticism for her no-holds-barred lyrics that often take aim at her ex-boyfriends. Harsh fact: if the men formerly in her life didn’t want to have their bad behaviour called out publicly, perhaps they should have conducted themselves a tad better?
As Swift herself says: “My words shoot to kill when I’m mad.” That’s human nature. But here’s the trick: feel it, sing it, dance it out, then never again look in the rear-view mirror.
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